Nassau County Property Taxes Explained: How Bills Are Set and Where They Go

A Nassau property tax bill rests on an assessment, a set of rates and the exemptions that reduce the taxable value. This page walks through each piece with figures from the County Comptroller, the State and the Town of Oyster Bay, and it points to the pages on STAR and grievances for the next steps. It belongs to the buying guide.

Understanding your Nassau County property taxes: how are they calculated?

A property tax bill is based on the property’s taxable assessment and local tax rates. The assessment is based on the property’s market value. The taxable assessed value is the total assessment minus any applicable exemptions.

Local governments set rates by dividing the tax levy, the total money that must be raised, by the taxable assessed value of real property in the municipality. Rates are typically based on $1,000 of assessed value. In Nassau, the tax receiver multiplies the rates for the districts where your property sits by its assessed value to produce the school and general bills.

Assessors can address only the assessment, not the amount of taxes. The taxes to be collected are set by local jurisdictions, not by the assessor. The school districts, towns and the County raise rates as needed to produce the revenue they require.

Where the money goes

Roughly 64% of the average Nassau homeowner’s tax (Comptroller, September 30, 2024), about $8,000, goes to the school district where the property is located. Approximately 14%, or $1,775, goes to the County. The remaining 22% is distributed among the township or city and other municipalities. Nassau County takes in about $944 million in property tax each year.

Of each tax dollar in the Town of Oyster Bay, 67 cents goes to schools, 20 cents to Nassau County and special districts, and 13 cents to the Town of Oyster Bay. The Town receives the second smallest share of the tax dollar. For a village-level example, see how Sea Cliff splits its bill. The village’s own median-home example puts village taxes at $3,075 a year, and village taxes are 12.5% of a resident’s total property taxes, so $3,075 ÷ 0.125 = $24,600 a year in total for that $929,000 home, using sales from 06/01/2020 to 05/31/2022.

Where you live and which municipalities provide services to your property determine how much of your taxes go to which entity. Residents who live on the same street can be in different towns, villages and special districts. Most villages set their own assessments for village taxes.

Assessments, market value and the 6% cap

Nassau’s Department of Assessment determines a tentative assessment for every property as of January 2, 2026. Its roll includes over 423,000 properties with a value of $264 billion, and it is the second largest assessing entity in New York State after New York City. The department develops assessments for all residential and commercial properties each year.

Nassau assesses property in classes, and in most districts separate rates are set for each class. Rates are typically much lower for Class 1 than for the other three classes. New York State law requires one uniform percentage within a municipality, except in Nassau County and New York City, where different types of property may be assessed at different percentages.

For residential property in Class 1, the total assessment may not increase more than 6% in one year or more than 20% in five years. Any increase in assessed value not attributable to construction or renovation is subject to a five-year transitional assessment. Market value means the most probable price at which a property would sell under ordinary circumstances, and assessors can estimate it from the sale prices of similar properties.

Property tax due dates in the Town of Oyster Bay

The Town of Oyster Bay Receiver of Taxes mails the school tax bill in October and the general tax bill in January. School tax is due in two halves, October 1 and April 1, and general tax in two halves, January 1 and July 1. Payments are accepted without penalty until November 10, May 10, February 10 and August 10, respectively.

There is a 40 day penalty free period between the due date and penalty date. Miss the last penalty-free day and the penalty is 1% per month, retroactive to the original due date. After the collection period ends, May 31 for school taxes and August 31 for general taxes, unpaid taxes are payable to the Nassau County Treasurer. A mandatory duplicate bill costs $10 per bill.

The Receiver’s office bills property taxes on more than 100,000 parcels in the Town and collects for the State, County, Town, special districts and school districts.

How to reduce a Nassau County property tax bill

There are two published routes: exemptions that cut the taxable value, and a challenge to the assessment itself. The STAR exemption is closed to new applicants: new owners register for the STAR credit with the New York State Tax Department as soon as the home becomes their primary residence. Current exemption recipients keep their benefit. Other partial exemptions are available based on age, income, disability and military or volunteer service. The state’s rules are covered in STAR exemption in Nassau County.

The challenge is a grievance filed with the Assessment Review Commission. The 2026 window closed March 31, 2026. The County FAQ listed March 2, 2026 before the extension and recommends filing online because it is faster and more accurate. A new tentative assessment is published on the first business day in January each year, and the next opportunity to file follows the next tentative roll. The mechanics, and what the commission can and cannot change, are in the tax grievance guide.

Schools take the largest share of the average bill, which is why the North Shore school districts page sits next to this one.